A Milestone Met - The Last Piece By Pocono Primitives

If you have been following us you probably know we have shut down Pocono Primitives and will be moving to the Coast Of Maine in the near future. We recently completed the last piece to be built by Pocono Primitives and we thought it would be interesting to document the process. The piece is our small buffet, catalog item #63, and ironically we will be delivering it to a customer in Maine so it will be making the journey with us.

The following are a few snapshots documenting the build process.

The pieces for the sides and shelves were chosen and cut to size.

The sides and shelves assembled.

Vertical and horizontal dividers added.

Framework for drawers added.

Interior panels and fascia added.

Bottom molding and top added.

Drawer fronts cut to size.

Dovetailed drawer parts made using a dovetail jig and router.

Completed drawers.

Closeup of drawer.

Raised panels and mortise and tenon door parts made.

Doors assembled using only corner pins and a small amount of glue.

Back boards re-sawn from a reclaimed antique 3" by 8" beam.

Resawn back boards were then shiplapped.

The finished prodcut after Donna does her multi-step finishing process. The buffet is finished in a distressed mustard over brown.

The finished product.

Is it Mainers or Maniacs?

Well it has been a while, but for good reason. We are in the process of closing our business (Pocono Primitives), selling our home and workshop, and moving to the coast of Maine and, oh yeah, we are gong to retire (or at least semi-retire). We still have quite a few orders to complete and a lot of things to take care of before we go so we are looking at mid-May to early June for the move. We will be staying with my daughter in NH until we find a place in Maine. She has agreed to take in her homeless, vagrant parents and the dog (she really likes the dog) until we find a place to buy - I predict after a few weeks she may be out looking for a place for us. Once settled, we plan to have a nice workshop and build unique one of a kind primitive pieces that we will sell locally or possibly on-line - not sure. We are going to shut down the web page and the Facebook page but I plan to keep this blog going and I expect to be quite active on it once we are settled. In the mean time postings will be sporadic so bear with us and check back occasionally. Dick H.

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover - Part 2

***This is a continuation of the 11/4 post by the same name***

The dresser pictured below was purchased at a yard sale for about $15. back in early November.

Front

Wide Board Back

It turns out after closer inspection that it was much earlier than I had originally guessed. It was made prior to 1830 as it has Type "A" cut nails throughout and the case is dovetailed top and bottom. Additionaly, the sides, top and bottom are single wide walnut boards.

Dovetailed Case

The Type "A" cut nails that I mentioned above would date the dresser to the 1800-1830 timeframe. If you have any interest in old primitive furniture it is good to have an understanding of the nails used to construct them. The image below shows the two most common types of cut nails. The "Type A" cut nail was machine made and used from approximately 1790 to 1830 and can be identified by the narrower top section which was caused when it was gripped to make the head. The Type B" cut nail was also machine made and was used from about 1820 to 1900 and is tapered on two sides from top to bottom.

Type A and Type B Cut Nails

The dresser originally most likely had bun feet as it has holes in the base for them.

Holes For Bun Feet

I turned a set of bun feet on the lathe that would be typical of the feet of the early 1800's.

Replacement Bun Feet

The bun feet were then installed along with bottom molding typical of the period and molding around the top of the dresser. I also installed a backsplash of reclaimed walnut that could be similar to what was on the dresser origianlly.

Dresser With Bun Feet, Molding and Backsplash Installed

The dresser was then painted with a base coat of our butternut color latex paint in preparation for grain painting.

Butternut Base Coat

Butternut Base Coat

The drawers were bound together with duct tape in preparation for te next step of grain painting.

Drawers Bound Together With Duct Tape

While we are on the drawers, the next image shows the delicate hand cut dovetails.

Narrow Hand Cut Dovetails

First coat of graining - The drawers are painted with a coat of red latex paint that has been thinned about 50%.

Drawers Painted With Thinned Red Latex Paint

While wet, a grain pattern is applied using a ribbed sponge.

First Graining Layer

A coat of thinned black is then daubed on with a balled up paper towel.

Mottled drawers

This process is done to the case of the dresser as well.

Case After Process Is Applied

Case After Process Is Applied

A coat of thinned black is then applied with a sponge and a grain pattern is worked in using the sponge, a graining brush and a flogging brush. Once the paint has dried thoroughly, several coats of clear paste wax were applied to seal the paint and give the piece an aged luster without making it glossy.

After Final Graining Is applied

Close-up

Back

Left Side

Left Side

Right Side

Front

Fainting Couch Back Board Made Into Blackboard

Quite some time ago I purchased this back board to a Victorian Eastlake style fainting couch at a yard sale.   I just thought it was an interesting piece and it was cheap so why not - perhaps I could use it for something someday.   Fainting couches or, chaise lounges, were popular in the Victorian era and all "proper" homes certainly would have had one. Eastlake is a reference to George Eastlake who published a book in the late 1860's titled Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details that influenced a late Victorian movement in furniture known as the Eastlake Movement that was typified by geometric carvings.

The back board has been kicking around the shop for two or three years now so it was time to do something with it.

Fainting Couch Back Board

I narrowed down what I was going to do to either make it into a mirror or a small blackboard.  It turns out, previously unbeknownst to me, that Donna wanted a blackboard for the kitchen so that may have influenced  the final decision.  The first step was the most difficult - where to make the first cut.  If I didn't get this right the first time it would just be a fancy piece of kindling.  After several measurements and re-measurements I made the cut.  You can see the results in the image below.

Bottom Piece After 1st Cut

A few more measurements and another cut on the left side and the piece  was ready to be glued and clamped into place.

Final Cut - Glued & Clamped

If you compare the picture above with the one below you will see I carved a pattern into the blank area on the left side that mimicked the pattern on the right - not perfect but pretty close.

Right side After Carving
I then cut a 1/4" piece of luan plywood to fit the middle section of the piece.  The luan then received several coats of Krylon black chalk board paint - 1st coat shown below.

After 1st Coat Of Chalk Board Paint
After the luan was dry, I used a glue gun to attach the board to the frame.  This way, it could be removed down the road  in case the black board needed to be re-coated.   The next two images are of the final product after it was stained and waxed.

Final Product

Final Product

The Blacksmith Rose

A few months ago we attended the PA Heritage Festival here in Troy, PA,  an annual gathering of crafters and craftsmen displaying their products and demonstrating their skills. The products ran the gamut from jewelry to quilts to brooms to wine and much more.  There were demonstrations of cider making, broom making, spinning, blacksmithing and several others.

I was particularly impressed watching the blacksmith demonstrate making a rose out of a single 1/4" iron rod.  It took him just about 15 minutes and with the aid of a little fire, just a few tools and quite a bit of labor, the end result was a pretty good resemblance to a rose - as I said, I was impressed.

Being the romantic that I am, I bought one for Donna (this was right after she grabbed one that he had for  sale, elbowed me in the ribs,  and said "give the man ten dollars").

Repurpose Idea - Primitive Corn Cutter Made Into A Shelf

This is a repurposing idea I wrote a couple years ago - it is partly about repurposing an old corn cutter tray into a shelf and also about making a reproduction of the antique corn cutter shelf.

The image below is of something I used to make about 15 or 20 years ago to sell in our antique shop in Virginia. The one pictured is the only one we saved from that period.

Tray From Antique Corn Cutter Made Into a Shelf

It is a shelf made from the tray of an antique corn cutter - see the next image for an idea of what the complete corn cutter looked like (not a great image but you can get the idea of the tray and the cutter knife on three legs). I have always heard them called corn cutters but they were also known as straw cutters, fodder choppers, chaff cutters, corn choppers, etc. The design of the corn cutter varied from manufacturer to manufacturer but they generally had a wooden tray about 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet long, stood on 3 or 4 legs and at the business end they had a large lethal looking blade that resembled a giant meat clever or they had a large hand cranked wheel with multiple chopping blades. They were manufactured from the mid 1800's until the early to mid 1900's.

Antique Corn Cutter

These corn cutters used to sell at auction for $5. to $15. because nobody wanted them - today they typically get quite a bit for them to the point that it is not practical to buy them to turn them into shelves.   I tried to buy the ones that had good color or good original lettering of the manufacturers name, where made, etc. so that the end product, the shelf, was attractive and interesting. Quite often they had somewhat ornate decoration and lettering on the sides of the tray.

I have recently reproduced the item and the following is a list of the materials required, the dimensions and the construction process. Feel free to use the information to build one for yourself - they are relatively easy to make from commonly available materials and there are no special tools required.

Materials Required
• Qty 2 - 7-3/4" by 38" by 1" pine (Shelf Back)
• Qty 2 - 5" by 33" by 1" pine (Sides)
• Qty 1 - 2-1/2" by 17" by 1" pine (Cross Brace For Shelf Back)
• Qty 1 - 5" by 48" by 1" pine (For Shelves)
• Qty 4 - 1-1/4" to 1-3/8" long Wood Screws
• Qty 30 - 2" Finish Nails

Step 1

Lay the two 38" boards side by side and make a mark on each board 4-1/8" from the center of the two boards (see next image).

Step 2

Make a mark on the outside edge of each board 5" from the top of the boards (see next two images). Then draw a line on each board connectingthe mark made in step 1 and the mark made in step 2. This line should be about 33" long. Cut each board along this line.

Step 3

To draw the arc that will be the top of the shelf, draw a line across the two boards to connect the marks made in step 2 (see next image). Make a mark 1/2" in from the outside edge of each board.
Using a large compass or a pencil on a string, draw an arc connecting the two marks you just made and extending to the upper edge of the two boards - this arc will have approximately an 8" radius. Using a sabre saw cut the arc and the 1/2" inset.

Step 4

Use a compass, a 6" diameter can, pencil on a string, etc. to make a 3" radius arc on the end of each of the side boards (5" by 33" pieces). Then cut the arcs with a sabre saw.

Step 5

This step is optional - I rounded over the top arc of the shelf on a shaper or you could do the same thing with a hand held router and a round over bit. If you don't have a router just round the edge over as best you can with a sander.

Step 6

Attach the 2-1/2" by 17" cross brace to the back of the shelf as shown in the image below using the 4 wood screws - allow 3/4" overhang on each edge for the side boards. Attach the sides using 2" finish nails.

Step 7

The shelf spacing I used was 9" between bottom and 2nd shelf and 8" between the next two shelves - you can vary this to suit your needs. You will have to measure the length of the shelves you use as they will vary depending on the spacing you use. The angle on the ends of the shelves to allow them to be flush with the angled sides is about 6 degrees - if you don't have the equipment to do this you can cut them off square and it will not be very noticeable. I added a 1/2" inset and I rounded the shelves to match the top arc of the shelf but this is not necessary.

Completed Shelf Before Staining

Step 8

The edges of the shelf were distressed to simulate years of wear and it was then sanded and stained using Minwax "Special Walnut" which was the closest match to the original shelf that we had on hand.

Shelf After Staining and Before Painting Lettering

Step 8

Lettering - My goal was to duplicate the original old antique lettering of "Ohio No.8-1/2" as closely as possible. You may want to do something totally different - use a different message, use stenciling, leave the sides blank, etc. I found a font on the computer that closely matched the lettering and I printed out "Ohio No. 8-1/2" in outline mode using the poster option on my image program. The outline mode allows you to print just the outline of the font and it saves ink and is easier to work with. The poster option allows you to print large images or large strings of text (like a banner or a sign) on multiple pages. This lettering (OHIO No. 8-1/2) was about 20" long so it required 2 sheets in landscape mode. After printing, the lettering was cut out to make a stencil then the stencil was traced onto the sides of the shelf (look closely at the image above and you can see the lettering. All that is left is to paint the lettering. We (Donna does the painting) sealed the stained shelf with a "spit coat" of shellac (a dilluted shellac) and used thinned acrylic paint for the lettering to get a near transparent look to the letters to match the lettering on the original shelf.

The Final Product